


A Return

by BaraBarbie



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Compliant, M/M, Post-Canon, klance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-05-12 13:59:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19230538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BaraBarbie/pseuds/BaraBarbie
Summary: “Happy 50th Birthday.” He softly chuckles before adding, “Wow. Shiro is so old.”Everyone meets up for a special birthday and find themselves reminiscing over significant events since the "end of Voltron."





	A Return

“Let’s hurry this up, everyone! The guest of honor is set to land in 20 of your Earth minutes,” Romelle yelled through cupped hands as she held a tablet wedged under her arm. “We still have to hang the banner and set the banquet.”

Krolia and Keith began to drape the cloths over the tables as instructed by Romelle. Lance held the ladder as Pidge climbed to fasten one end of the banner to the ceiling of the elegant hall.

“Don’t you have some fancy robot that could hang this up for us?” Lance half-heartedly complained still winded after scouring the Castle of Lions for the ladder. Pidge grunted as they struggled to secure the banner. They did one final tug with their left hand as they pointed with their right to the other end of the banner. A distant descendant of the original Rover hovered around the banner opposite of Pidge, a dainty mechanical arm protruding from one of its many ports securing the sign to the ceiling.

“I do. And it’s _been_ helping me!” Pidge blatantly expressed their patience was coming to an end since they had been helping with preparations for hours at this point.

Pidge arrived with their family several hours earlier and were immediately put to work by Romelle, the designated party planner. The family barely had time to exchange pleasantries with Hunk and Shay who were already in the middle of cooking and baking a feast for the occasion. As soon as the former green paladin’s crew unloaded from their moderate spaceship, Coran and Krolia desperately volunteered everyone else’s time to assist in preparations.

Lance and his family were “fashionably late,” as stated by Lance. Pidge held some resentment as his family were able to leisurely unload and begin helping after the more strenuous tasks had been assigned and completed.

Pidge took in a deep breath, held for a few counts, and exhaled their frustrations into their air. They quickly descended from the top of the ladder and were in a pleasant mood by the time their feet touched solid ground. They took several steps back to view the banner. Lance collapsed the ladder before joining Pidge to marvel their handiwork.

“Looks great, guys!” Hunk approached from the table Krolia had finished setting up where he was able to set down a large platter of appetizers from different worlds he’s visited.

Keith walks up from behind Lance taking the ladder. He reads the banner out loud.

“Happy 50th Birthday.” He softly chuckles before adding, “Wow. Shiro is so old.”

Lance turns his head to glance at Keith. “You’re not very far behind him, ya know?”

Keith’s eyebrows furrow and an exaggerated scowl forms on his face as he keeps his eyes focused on the banner and firmly hands the ladder back to Lance.

“Ah. What?!” Lance takes the ladder and adjusts his hold. He dramatically sighs. “Aw, man.”

Pidge’s watch beeps and alerts them of something.

“Oh! Is that them?” Hunk begins walking toward the doors already knowing the notification was of Shiro and Curtis’ arrival.

The party began immediately and progressed naturally. Shiro and Curtis were welcomed by everyone. The paladins, their parents, children, extended relatives, life-long friends that are considered family, as well as many of the Alteans residing on New Altea.

Shiro admitted that he had a feeling the trip to New Altea for an “Important Mission” that fell on his birthday was a ruse to celebrate. However, he was ultimately surprised by the large turnout of guests. He found himself having a meaningful conversation with friends he had not thought about in years.

Curtis graciously interrupted when he noticed a lull in conversation with what may have been the eighteenth person Shiro was reminiscing with in the past hour.

“Mind if I steal him from you?” He formally requested as he tugged on Shiro’s hand. Shiro didn’t realize how tiring talking was until the reprieve Curtis provided. They walked toward a vacant table. Curtis revealed two beers he had been carrying and set one in front of Shiro.

Shiro glanced around the hall, which had fewer guests now than when he arrived. He takes note that there’s a more mellow vibe; there are fewer dancers, more alcohol is accessible, and there’s an absence of kids.

“I thought you could use a break,” Curtis interrupted his husband’s observing of the environment.

“Thanks. I didn’t notice how long I’ve been without you. Time flew by.” Shiro picked up his drink. He reached for Curtis’ hand to slow the evening back down. Holding hands for several moments, Shiro let the affection build in his chest before bringing their hands to his mouth and gently kissed Curtis’ knuckle. Curtis hummed in acknowledgement at the well-practiced gesture.

Shiro dragged his focus from his husband to the remaining guests that was made up of his family and friends. A loud and hearty laugh catches his attention. Hunk is standing behind Pidge’s chair turned away from the table. Pidge is showing Hunk a video on their watch.

At the same table, Shiro notices Lance gazing in Hunk and Pidge’s direction, appearing lost in a daydream until Keith taps him on the shoulder. Lance looks up before glancing to Keith’s extended hand. Lance smiles and is lead easily to the dance floor where they fall into a comfortable sway.

Shiro can’t help smiling at the scene before him. Curtis’ squeezes Shiro’s hand to get his attention.

“What are you thinking about?”

“More like reminiscing,” Shiro clarifies as his expression relaxes.

 

**16 years earlier**

“I’ve done a lot of adult things. Like, super grown-up stuff. But there’s something mature about having a pair of cufflinks. So cool.” Hunk kept taking off and putting on the gifted cufflinks. Every few removals he’d bring it up to his eye to inspect the topaz stone set in gold. Then he’d gently rub his fingers over the engraving of his initials.

Hunk reaches over to Lance’s wrist, “Like, look! Dude, have you really looked at yours?”

Lance used his other wrist’s sleeve to wipe the runaway tear he shed after watching Shiro and Curtis’ first dance as husbands.

“Huh? Wha-” he begins as he sees Hunk leaning close to his wrist, “Oh, yeah. They’re cool. I’m going to wear these all time.”

“Are you guys still ogling the cufflinks? Jeez.” Pidge rolled their eyes, though their smile softened the edge of their comment. They sit in a seat across from Lance and Hunk. The rest of the table is empty of the guests who went to watch the speeches and dancing.

“You cannot tell me your cufflinks are not cool.” Hunk replied flatly.

“No, no. Mine are super cool. Far superior to both of yours.” Pidge challenged them.

Hunk shifted in preparation to rise to the bait and refute Pidge before noticing Lance staring at the dance floor with a far-off look. He glanced at Pidge before asking, “Lance, buddy, you okay?”

“Totally,” Lance quickly responded, “I’m just thinking about Allura a lot. Also, I’ve started dating again.” Lance slowly looks at Pidge across the table and then Hunk, who is directly next to him. “I guess I’m kind of in a weird place.” Lance chuckles at the honest admission.

“Hey, that’s great,” Hunk places a hand on Lance’s shoulder before continuing, “right? That’s what you’ve been wanting. To start dating?”

“Yeah, man. It is! My therapist helped me realize that I’m a different person now and that I need to find that person again, -or find me, I think.” He looks at his friends’ poorly concealed confused expressions. “Whatever they said made sense, and I am in a place to finally, after nearly half ‘a decade, to continue living. Like, really living and not just mourning and surviving.”

“I’m really happy for you!” Hunk finally removed his hand from Lance’s shoulder for an embrace.

“Yeah. This is really huge for you, Lance. Princess Allura is forever in our hearts and we are all here to support you.” Pidge got up from their seat to sandwich Lance in their and Hunk’s hug.

“Thanks, guys,” Lance wheezed from between their crushing enthusiasm, patting someone’s arm, “but tonight, we are here to celebrate established love. Not my potential, future relationship.”

Pidge pulled away first, “So what I’m hearing is you want a drink?”

“I’m hearing Lance wants a drink! Stay here,” Hunk stood up as he anchored Lance into the chair by placing either hand on Lance’s shoulders, “we’ll be right back with some adult beverages.”

Lance watched Hunk and Pidge quickly weave through the guests going back to their seats to get to the open bar. His chest felt full of optimism and gratitude at his friends. With his mind feeling less busy with thoughts, he finally took the time to look at the cufflinks Shiro gifted him for being one of his groomsmen. Lance lightly chuckled at the memory of receiving them at the rehearsal dinner.

He was seated between Hunk and Keith. He unwrapped his cufflinks and admired the blue sapphire and his engraved initials. He looked to his right and saw Hunk and Pidge turning theirs over in their hands. Lance turned to observe Keith, who was staring at them sentimentally. Lance leaned over to look at the ruby and Keith’s initials.

“Shiro should’ve put B.M. as your initials,” Lance’s grin grew impossibly wide as he tried to suppress laughing at his own joke, “since you’re the Best Man and all.” Keith merely closed his eyes and released a drawn-out breath in attempt to extinguish a laugh.

“A poop joke.” Keith responded as he met Lance’s eyes for several seconds and smiled. “You’re impossible, Lance.”

Lance had initially thought back to the other night to give himself more mental high-fives over his teasing, but he found himself smiling at the private moment he shared with Keith.

Lance felt the table shake as Hunk sat down in his seat.

“Wow. Already back from the bar?” Lance turned to face Hunk.

“Sorry. I didn’t think to bring anything to drink.” Keith responded as Lance looked at him with confusion.

“Oh, hey! I thought you were Hunk for a sec. I saw your speech earlier! You did great!” Lance recovered quickly from his initial shock and subsequent floundering.

Keith’s expression twisted into a grimace, “I didn’t think I did that great. Between you and me, I felt nervous.” He admitted before continuing on, “I actually just ran into Hunk and Pidge on their way to the bar. They said you’re feeling better. Already dating?”

“Yeah, it’s slow going. Like really slow. I haven’t officially been on a date or anything. I was able to talk to a girl without immediately shutting her down,” Lance’s eyes sunk toward the table as he opened up. “I think I need some help. Like a push.” He finished his final thought quietly. Keith wasn’t sure it was meant to be heard.

Keith watched Lance stare at the table for so long, he thinks Lance forgot they were at a wedding and that he was not alone.

“I’ll be your wing man.” Keith decided to be the push Lance is asking for.

“Keith, I don’t think-” Lance starts.

“How about her?” Keith points at a random guest across the dance floor. He is willing to sift through every guest to find a suitable partner for his friend. He was determined to cheer Lance up even if it involved him stepping out of his comfort zone.

Keith and Lance strain so much to see the person he is pointing at, they start leaning in their direction. They didn’t notice Hunk and Pidge returned.

“Why are you pointing at Hunk’s niece,” Pidge inquired. Keith and Lance bristle at the sudden voice and the realization of trying to check out their friend’s family member.

“I, uh- I was actually pointing at, uhh,” Keith scrambled to find another person to point at. He scanned every person. N7? Taken. Shay? Taken. Colleen? Taken. A Taujeerian? Pass. Keith knew the pause was becoming too long. He growled lowly out of frustration before saying, “Forget it. I’ll dance with you, Lance.”

Before Lance could fully comprehend, Keith was pulling Lance by the elbow to the dance floor.

“Look, before you say anything, Shiro made me take dancing lessons with him and Curtis so their first dance was their actual first dance. So, this won’t be weird if you don’t make it weird.” Keith kept eye contact with Lance as he grasped his hand. “Also, I lead,” he stated placing the other hand on Lance’s waist.

Lance could only stare back, mouth agape. After a moment of standing static as music played around them, he shook his head to finally respond. “Uh. Ok, but I lead the next one,” he raised an eyebrow as if proposing a challenge.

“We’ll see.”

Lance squeezed Keith’s hand. Keith responded by shifting his hand from the waist to Lance’s lower back, bringing their bodies closer. He heard Lance exhale a soft, “Oh,” and smirked before noticing Shiro had been watching the interaction. Shiro ducked his head to whisper into Curtis’ ear. Curtis then looked toward Keith and smiled.

Keith cleared his throat and distracted himself from the grooms’ attention and the endearment for Lance he can feel growing in his chest by continuing to look for a new dancing partner for Lance.

“What about her?” Keith nodded toward someone he didn’t recognize sitting alone at a table.

“Huh?” Lance asked as he glanced her way before looking Keith in the eyes. “What _about_ her?”

Keith held eye contact, though it made him feel vulnerable. He reactively loosened his grip on Lance’s hand and back. He took in a breath to prepare for the impending heartbreak he was about to put into motion.

“To dance with. You should dance with her.”

Lance’s eyebrows quirked and his eyes widened. He looked toward the woman again.

“She’s not my type.”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> All ages are based by Earth date/time. 
> 
> Ages at party/ at Wedding:  
> Shiro 50 / 34  
> Keith 45 / 29  
> Lance 44 / 28  
> Hunk 44 / 28  
> Pidge 41 / 25


End file.
